Hanging at His Place
by spottedhorse
Summary: Sofia gets a peek into Gil Grissom's world.


I had posted a poll on my profile that was about CSI couplings. One pair that I didn't list was Gil and Sofia. I've always thought there was chemistry there, especially in her first few episodes but then the writers made it go away. Well, it's back!

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Sofia Curtis sat on Gil Grissom's couch in his townhouse. They had worked a particularly difficult case that had gotten even worse when the suspect entered the crime scene while Gil was still analyzing. A woman and two children had been found dead in various rooms of the house. Sofia knew that cases involving children always hit Grissom hard. This one had been no exception. He was kneeling over the space recently occupied by the youngest child, a little girl, when the suspect entered. Gil had just spotted a key piece of evidence on the floor, a miniature baseball bat with blood all over it. Somehow it had been pushed under the child's bed so Gil was bending over to retrieve it. The suspect, the husband and father of the small family, charged into the room with a gun in his hand. Just as Gil looked up at the man, he raised his gun to fire. Sofia was in a room down the hall and had heard the perp's footsteps. She appeared in the doorway just in time to perceive the perp's intent to shoot Grissom, so she fired first. The bullet entered the center of his back, passing through, and spraying Gil with the man's blood.

That had been hours ago. Of course there was more investigation, more questions, and finally, a suggestion that maybe Gil should go home and get out of those bloody clothes. Since it wasn't her crime scene anymore, Sofia offered to drive him, leaving IAD to finish their work. Once they made it to her car, Gil had broken the tension. "Damn Sofia, that was one of my favorite shirts," he exclaimed.

"You're welcome," she fired back. He smiled one of the all too rare but very famous Grissom smiles….the one that made him look like a little boy.

Now sitting on his couch, she looked around his place. They'd had dinner a few times and had developed a friendship that was moving beyond work, but she had never seen his place. As she studied it, she thought about how very Grissom it was. The décor was simple, clean lines, neat and organized….Spartan. At first blush, there seemed to be no clues about the man who lived here. But a closer look revealed more than he probably wished it would. There were shelves of classical CDs with a sprinkling of others mixed in; The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, The Police, U2, Queen and other 70s and 80s rock selections, as well as an impressive mix of jazz. She also spotted some folk singers and a couple of CDs of ballads. And there was one CD of Broadway showstoppers hiding next to a Placido Domingo recording. Sofia smiled at his eclectic mix.

She walked around the room, looking at his butterflies. There were many beautiful specimens in the frames. They revealed that the owner was very detail oriented, compulsive even….one of the traits that made him such a good forensic scientist. But they also revealed something about which his co workers had probably not given much thought; he had a real eye for beauty.

Another set of shelves held his books. There were many books on bugs, several on forensics, a few general interest titles, and a couple of good old 'who done its.' Sitting at an angle on one of the shelves was a photo album. Sofia carefully took it down and walked back to the couch. She sat with her feet crossed under her and opened the book.

The first page held black and white pictures that appeared to be from long ago. On the side of one of the pictures a date had been printed, March 1954. Sofia looked at the couple in the picture. The woman looked straight at the camera. The man was looking at the woman, a smile that Sofia recognized on his face. It was Gil's smile. As she studied the woman's face, she saw Gil's eyes and judging by the tint of gray in the picture, she was also the source of his vibrant blue color also. Studying the other features of their faces, she realized that while they both were attractive people, they had produced an even more handsome son with the perfect blend of the best each had to offer.

Turning the page, she discovered another picture of them. This one was in color. And yes, Gil had gotten his eye color from his mother. His father had blue eyes also, but they weren't as intense in color, tending more toward a softer shade, almost gray. Gil's premature gray was compliments of his father, the picture revealed.

The next page had a small picture of a very beautiful baby. She guessed it was Gil, although it was hard to tell. But the curly hair and something in the expression told her that it had to be him. There were also pictures of the man and woman holding the baby, clearly happy.

As she turned the pages, she saw Gil beginning to emerge in the features of the child. Some of the pictures portrayed a happy, laughing boy while others showed the beginnings of the serious scientist he was to become. Another page had him dressed in a tuxedo and top hat. Further inspection told her that he was tap dancing. She giggled at that. The boy in the picture looked miserable.

Turning the page, she looked at pictures of father and son in baseball uniforms. Gil had played Little League Ball. Evidently his father had coached. Pride shone on both their faces.

The present day Gil Grissom emerged from his room. He had showered and changed and felt refreshed. Standing just inside the room, he was watching Sofia as she looked at the photo album. He wasn't comfortable with her intrusion into his privacy but it occurred to him that he wasn't as upset by her intrusion as he might have been with someone else. Crossing the room, he slipped onto the couch next to her. She was looking at the page with the formal picture of him with his parents. He remembered Dad driving them to the studio to have the picture made. It was taken about a month before his death.

Sofia glanced up at him. "Good looking family," she said, her eyes twinkling as they so often did.

He smiled, losing himself in her eyes. She was a very beautiful woman for whom he felt a great attraction. It just seemed like the job kept getting between them and so the relationship had stalled before it had ever really started.

He was so lost in her that he forgot the contents of the next page. He saw her gasp as she flipped the page to his father's obituary. He flinched as he looked down at the article. He didn't need to read the words; he had memorized it long ago. His father had been his hero and then in a blink, he was gone. And no one could or would explain why. It was then that Gil learned to contain his emotions so carefully. His mother had taken her husband's death very hard and didn't need a son who was breaking down all the time also. He had learned to reserve his tears for late at night in the quiet of his bedroom. During the day, no one ever saw the depth of his grief and despair. It was a skill he had honed over the years and had grown to be a part of him, to the point that others called him a robot, the tin man, and emotionally unavailable. He didn't know if he was all of those things. He did know that he still reserved his emotions for the quiet of his private space, not wanting to let others glimpse the truth depth of his feelings.

Sofia turned to him, his sadness registering on her radar. "You took it hard…you still miss him don't you?"

He blinked and then an eyebrow shot up. How had she guessed? He sat stunned, trying to come up with a response.

"Come on, Gil. It's in your eyes…. It's all there for anybody to see if they look closely enough. It always is….what you are feeling at the time, I mean."

He swallowed deeply. It was like she was reading his mind. How did she do that? And why did it feel so….so ….good? Usually he didn't like it when others saw through him like that; he liked being alone in his bubble…usually.

"It's okay, Gil. I can see it in your face…you do still miss him but you'd rather not talk about it."

As he relaxed, he became aware of how constricted his muscles had become….especially in his chest. Slowly he began to breath normally again. But as he looked down into her glistening blue eyes, his heart rate accelerated. Before he knew what he was doing, his lips were on hers, testing the waters.

Sofia was surprised by his kiss; pleasantly so. She had often wondered about those lips of his and how they would feel against hers. She had to admit, they felt pretty damned good. Just as she was into it fully, he pulled away.

Gil panicked. What was he doing? They had a good working relationship, camaraderie. This could ruin that and he didn't want that to happen. On the other hand….she tasted so good. He was fighting the temptation to kiss her again. He stared at her in confusion.

Sofia was watching him closely and thought she knew what was going on in his mind. Not one to leave things to chance, she decided to take matters into her own hands…or rather lips. She leaned towards him, kissing him fully, her hand moving behind his head to better access his mouth. She felt his discomfort but held her ground; actually his lips. She had his lower one between her teeth, teasing him with nibbles. Then she covered both of his lips with hers again and began to work her tongue over them. She felt his breath catch.

Gil was surprised by her boldness; even more surprised by his own reaction. It scared him at first but he was beginning to really like this new connection with her. Actually, he was liking it a lot…and his body was taking over, ignoring his mind.

She felt him began to relax into the kiss and participate more. Her hand moved from behind his neck to just below his ear, where she felt his pulse pounding. He was having a very physical reaction to her which made her happy because she was feeling her own body's response.

His body wanted more but his head was saying stop. Fear was feeding his thoughts of stopping but his brain seemed to have little control over his response to her. Finally he forced himself to pull away, but only slightly. Catching his breath, his lips were still only millimeters away from hers. Their eyes met, both sets heavy with desire. Hers were inviting, challenging….hiding nothing.

It disappointed her when he pulled away but she wasn't really surprised. He was always so very careful about containing his emotions….one kiss wasn't going to change that. As she looked into his eyes, she saw the confusion…so much conflict. He wanted to continue kissing…maybe even more, but something was holding him back. And then she saw it, he decided. A slight flicker in his eyes gave it away.

"Sofia," he whispered, his breath spreading warmth on her face.

Her fingers rubbed along the hairline just behind his ear. She felt the throb of his heartbeat in the arteries and veins that ran through there. And she watched intently as his lips closed in on hers again. The kiss was warm, sweet, and full of longing. It told her that he wanted to take his time, savor the experience….so like Gil, though she supposed there were those who wouldn't understand that about him either.

The kissing turned into a major make out session, complete with fondling and groping. It continued until their lips were becoming dry and sore. Sofia's felt swollen as well. But she was enjoying it, all of it and she didn't want it to stop now. But she sensed him holding back…not ready to make the next step. Better to leave him wanting more than to force the issue, she decided. Pulling back she whispered, "I think I should go….you know, before things get too…"

Quietly he agreed, relief washing over his features; but she saw the disappointment he was feeling also. Good, she thought. It'll give him a lot to think about. He walked her to the door where she paused and turned around…one last kiss to keep him dangling. Her hand trailed down his chest as she turned to leave. He watched her as she walked away, her hips swinging in a tantalizing rhythm. "I need another shower," he said out loud. "A cold one."

He heard her chuckle as she disappeared into the night.

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So what did you think?


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